__________________The universe is the practical joke of the General at the expense of the Particular, quoth Frater Perdurabo, and laughed. The disciples nearest him wept, seeing the Universal Sorrow. Others laughed, seeing the Universal Joke. Others wept. Others laughed. Others wept because they couldn't see the Joke, and others laughed lest they should be thought not to see the Joke. But though FRATER laughed openly, he wept secretly; and really he neither laughed nor wept. Nor did he mean what he said.

Never anything good to come out of an injury but apparently we have a guy in Double AA- (Think it's Erik Johnson?) who has some pretty impressive numbers. Under 2 ERA, 25 strikeouts, 5 walks. Be interesting to see if he gets the callup.

Other than that, good fight in the 8th to bring the tying run to the plate. Moore dominated, simple as that.

The Sox needed to get a well-pitched game tonight against Moore, and there were two innings where the Rays didn't score, despite getting a runner into scoring position in both. I wondered if Santiago simply didn't warm up sufficiently. Coming into the game with two outs, none on and two strikes on the hitter, he had the percentages on his side to finish the inning scoreless, and he could have given Floyd a statistical three innings tonight, because the third strike would have given the strike out to Floyd. (The report I saw showed Floyd left with two strikes anyway.) But even after Santiago left the game, it continued to be pad your stats night for the the Rays, even their sub-.200 hitters.

Maybe if Floyd hadn't gone down, the game would have turned out differently. The chance the Sox had was keeping the game close, wearing Moore down and getting to the bullpen. As it was, Moore left with a higher ERA than he came in with. The Dunn homer was hit while the game was still close. And it felt like Moore came out because he was tiring, not because of the big lead.

I wonder if it frustrates Rays fans to see their team seem to be able to score at will when their strongest pitcher is going after losing two close games.

Whether the Sox would have come back in a close game isn't certain. The Rays were trying to get innings out of their B relievers tonight. It was still good to see the tying run come up in eighth after all that had gone wrong tonight. If the bullpen hadn't allowed so many bad things to happen, this loss would have been downright frustrating with the Sox twice leaving the bases loaded.

A few more thoughts if I may. Gonzo told me that scouts were actually looking at Floyd anticipating a Sox fire sale come July. You've got to figure with three trips to the DL for an elbow issue in less than a season AND (let's not forget) he couldn't finish his first two years with the club due to a hip issue, the Sox will be lucky to get a bag of balls for him even if he does come back to pitch.

Unfortunately it looks like another 9.5 million flushed down the toilet.

Offensively offensive numbers:

After tonight, the Sox are last in the A.L. in runs scored (3.3 per game)

The Sox are last in the A.L. in on base percentage (I think it's .277)

And the Sox are now 24-133 for the year with RISP. That's .180 for the year which God help us is actually an improvement. It was as low as .160.

When Floyd goes on the DL it'll be five (Septimo was removed from the list and sent to the minors where he can continue to feed his gopher ball)...four of whom were either starters or considered important pieces. Santiago according to Robin takes Floyd's place in the rotation.

I agree. He's either missing the strike zone completely, or throwing meat up there.

Honestly, at what point are people going to just learn to see Floyd for what he is? He's had 5 starts this season, 2 good, 3 bad. That's exactly the kind of guy he's been for most of his Sox career, especially the last few years. He'll give you some good starts but he's also going to lay an egg just as often. He's still a valuable SP to even an above average to good team. He's just not a frontline kind of a guy, especially not at 30.

Honestly, at what point are people going to just learn to see Floyd for what he is? He's had 5 starts this season, 2 good, 3 bad. That's exactly the kind of guy he's been for most of his Sox career, especially the last few years. He'll give you some good starts but he's also going to lay an egg just as often. He's still a valuable SP to even an above average to good team. He's just not a frontline kind of a guy, especially not at 30.